With the release of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (2010 DGA) in Washington today, the United Fresh Produce Association is cheering the new consumer message to "make half your plate fruits and vegetables." The Dietary Guidelines have long recommended that Americans consume more healthy foods like fruits and vegetables, but the "make half your plate fruits and vegetables" message is the strongest and most compelling message to ever come out of Department of Agriculture and Department of Health and Human Services about fruits and vegetables. The "half a plate" visual lets Americans know exactly how to picture the amount of fruits and vegetables they should eat at every meal.

            "Today’s announcement is a huge step toward encouraging healthier eating habits across the country, and we couldn’t be happier," said Dr. Lorelei DiSogra, United Fresh vice president of nutrition and health, who cited the "half a plate" strategy as a key tactic in testimony delivered to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee in 2009 and 2010. "By making an overarching recommendation like ‘half a plate,’ the 2010 DGA provides clearer guidance to Americans that, no matter what their age or calorie intake requirement, everyone needs to strive to have fruits and vegetables make up half of what they eat at each meal. In late 2004, in preparation for the release of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines, the National Cancer Institute did scientific consumer research to demonstrate that the half a plate message was the most effective way to communicate the amount of fruits and vegetables American should eat. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines really put fruits and vegetables front and center as a critical step toward creating a healthier America."

            Published jointly by USDA and HHS, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are updated every five years to reflect new nutrition science related to health promotion and disease prevention. The 2010 DGA focuses on balancing calories with physical activity and encourages Americans to consume more healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free dairy products and seafood, and to consume less sodium, saturated and trans fats, added sugars, and refined grains. The 2010 DGA also emphasizes eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, especially dark green, red and orange vegetables.

            The 2010 DGA recommendations add to the impact of the recently-passed Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act signed into law late last year, as well as the recently published proposed rule to improve school meals, which calls for doubling the amount of fruits and vegetables served in school meals and provides an increase in the federal reimbursement rate tied to serving healthier foods.

            United Fresh has been at the forefront of nutrition advocacy for many years, championing increases in fruits and vegetable consumption through federal programs like the National School Lunch Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program (FFVP) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as well as public-private coalitions like the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative which supports First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative.